Speak Like a Pro: Expert-Backed Methods for OET Speaking Excellence
For healthcare professionals and candidates who aspire to settle down abroad, OET is a vital step. In our previous blogs, we discussed everything about OET. We know that OET is divided into four sub-tests- Listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Through this test, your English proficiency and communication skills are assessed. When it comes to any language or exams, the speaking part gets challenging, and with the growing demand for high-quality healthcare professionals, OET is crucial.
Whether you are preparing for OET classes in Ahmedabad or Gujarat mastering the speaking sub-test is crucial. Your mastery in speaking can boost both your confidence and score. Here we are going to highlight and build a deep understanding of the speaking sub-test. Master the speaking sub-test by diving into the expert-backed tips to boost your confidence and score.
Know OET speaking sub-test.
Familiarizing yourself with the test format goes a long way, in your success journey. It not only adds up to your confidence, but it also helps in your preparation. Let's look at the OET speaking sub-tests format to get a better understanding. The sub-test lasts approximately 20 minutes. It is profession-specific which means the test assesses you for your specialization along with reflecting the real-life healthcare situations. As we discussed in our last blog, the test consists of 2 role-plays, which require you to take the role of a healthcare professional while the interlocutor takes the other role of a patient, a relative, or a colleague.
Each role-play is designed in such a way that it assesses your communication skills, expertise, and your English proficiency. The test assesses one based on these five criteria -
Intelligibility
Fluency
Appropriateness of language
Resources of grammar and expression
Relationship - building
How to speak like a pro?
Positivity is the key :
Often as a healthcare professional, your duty requires you to make tough decisions, take patients through tough situations, and declare some unpleasant news. But apart from this, your role as a healthcare professional is to make the patient feel comfortable especially when they are in tough situations such as undergoing surgery or tests. During such situations avoid negative words and choose such positive words. This will not only make the patient comfortable and calm their chaotic minds but it will also make them feel positive about the situation and help them face it.
You need to keep in mind that your interlocutor is your patient and needs to be treated the same way. Use the same set of words you would use for your clients, positive and calming. That doesn’t sound rude and frightening to them. Deliver all the required information but with the correct choice of words.
Don’t skip the important details.
As a healthcare professional, you have to come across various procedures regularly, but your patients don’t. All the procedures and instructions that come to them are new to them, hence as a healthcare professional you need to explain them all in detail. You need to explain to a patient about everything that is going to happen, that they are likely to face. Inform them clearly about each procedure in a logical manner without skipping a step. Also, keep in mind that you need to use positive language while you are fulfilling your duties and role.
Listening is a must
While answering the test, candidates often forget that it's not just a conversation but a role-play. That requires them to enact the healthcare scenario. The candidates often overlook the fact that the interlocutor is not just an interlocutor but their patient. You need to give them the same importance as you would give to your patient. In the role-play, you don’t just have to constantly speak and give advice. Instead, you need to listen more, analyze the situation and react accordingly. You can give advice and reply to your patient's queries directly but at times you have to wait and listen to what they are saying. Along with listening to them, you also have to show that in your actions. At times you also have to ask follow-up questions and summarize the conversation to show your patient had all your attention. Listen to them, so that they feel understood. That will help them have trust in you.
Learn how to offer advice.
As a healthcare professional, you have to advise your patients at times. But mastering the skill of how to advise people goes a long way. You need to learn and master the skill so that your advice sounds like a piece of advice and not a demand. Here again, your choice of words matters a lot. You need to make the proper choice of words that don’t sound arrogant, rude, and demanding. Don’t forget that your interlocutor is not just your interlocutor.
Mastering the OET speaking sub-test is a pivotal step toward demonstrating your English proficiency and readiness to practice in a new healthcare environment. By familiarizing yourself with the test format and focusing on key areas such as positivity, detail orientation, active listening, and effective advising, you can significantly enhance your performance. Remember, each role-play is designed to reflect real-life healthcare scenarios, so approaching them with the same professionalism and empathy you would in a clinical setting is essential.
At In5Knite Solutions we provide you with the best services to reach your global horizon. Here we provide you with one-on-one coaching along with personal doubts solving sessions and resource material. Our goal is to prepare you for life and not just the test. Here at our institute, we not only prepare you for OET but also help you master the skills that boost your results and give wings to your healthcare career.